Sunday 31 May 2015 22:57, UK
Saracens hooker Jamie George insists he holds no grudges towards Dylan Hartley after being on the receiving end of his head-butt.
The incident has cost Northampton's firebrand captain his World Cup chance, and he has been replaced by George in England’s 50-man squad.
George celebrated his call-up by scoring one try and creating another as Saracens were crowned Aviva Premiership champions by beating Bath 28-16 at Twickenham.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster reacted swiftly to Hartley's four-week ban, imposed following his citing for the George incident during a Premiership semi-final clash eight days ago, by removing him from World Cup contention.
Hartley, who has an appalling disciplinary record, cannot play again until after England's World Cup opener against Fiji on September 18, and George will now report for pre-tournament training duty in three weeks' time alongside fellow hookers Tom Youngs, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Rob Webber.
"You have to feel for him," George said.
"It is very difficult circumstances that he has got himself in. I have no hard feelings towards him. It was in the heat of the moment and it was something I am sure he will regret.
"But it has given me this opportunity and I am going to try and take it as well as I can.
"I have got to make the most of the opportunity I have got. I am just going to get my head down and try to work as hard as I can. Hopefully, I can develop as a player and if that happens then anything can happen.
"I can't control selection and all the rest of it, but what I can control is trying to develop myself, trying to develop the way I play and learn from the amazing people around me."
The 24-year-old failed to make Lancaster's first squad cut, a decision that surprised many given his outstanding form, but the contrast of emotions could now hardly be greater.
After hearing the news from England forwards coach Graham Rowntree, Saracens rugby director Mark McCall was quick to congratulate George, much to the delight of the player.
"It has been pretty manic, pretty crazy," George said. "Graham Rowntree rang me before the squad was going to be announced and just said it was a close call but I wasn't going to be involved.
"It was very disappointing but at the same time I understood the reasons behind it.
"Mark McCall then rang me after the semi-final and just said it was going to be announced that I was going to be in the squad and how proud he was of me. That was probably one of the best phone calls I have ever received.
"We have got a wealth of very good hookers in the country. You could see that with the squad selection and I just needed to make sure that I kept playing as well as I could.
"To win a trophy and then go into camp obviously gives you a spring in your step. Hopefully, I have gained respect of some of the guys there already, and if I haven't then that is my aim during the first couple of weeks I am in camp."
